American League Central

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Mike Moustakas smoked a double inside the right-field line, opening the flood gates. Nori Aoki slapped a single through the left side, Lorenzo Cain dropped a bloop single into center and Eric Hosmer bounced a double over a drawn-in infield. By the time Billy Butler ended a half-hour rally with a gapper to the outfield wall, the party was well underway in front of 40,000 fans. And just like that, two innings into a game they had to win, the Kansas City Royals renewed their hopes of a first World Series title in 29 years. Seven hits keyed a relentless seven-run rally in the second inning on Tuesday night and the Royals beat the San Francisco Giants 10-0 to force a...

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Baseball's regular season is quite long. Kansas City has a nine-game lead in the American League Central, so there's no real division race to keep things interesting during the next two months before the postseason finally gets underway.
So some of the...

Zach Helfand ranks the 30 Major League Baseball teams.
Last week's rankings are in parentheses;statistics are through Friday's games:
1. ST. LOUIS: Ace gone for the year in a tough division? Yawn. The Cards have a comfortable cushion in first. (1)
2....

Magic Johnson says the television blackout has not hurt the Dodgers' brand, and the fans let him have it. How can he not feel their pain?
He does. But here is the thing that stings: Johnson is absolutely right.
Remember when Frank McCourt supposedly was...

The Kansas City Royals did not get a lot of love this spring. The Cleveland Indians were the trendy pick to win the American League Central. The Detroit Tigers were the solid pick. The Chicago White Sox were the sleeper pick.
The Royals were the...

CENTRAL DIVISION
1. Detroit Tigers
2014: 90-72, first place. Last year in playoffs: 2014.
Justin Verlander's move to the disabled list because of a triceps strain at the end of spring training was bad news for the Tigers, who need the right-hander to...

In Ned Colletti's first winter as Dodgers general manager, he made three trades, a perfectly reasonable volume. In Andrew Friedman's first winter in charge, he dominated the winter meetings by making four trades within 24 hours.
There was the midnight...

The Dodgers weren't the only team dealing Thursday morning.
The Boston Red Sox have agreed to send power-hitting outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitcher Rick Porcello, a person familiar with the negotiations told the...

The Minnesota Twins have fired manager Ron Gardenhire after 13 seasons that included at least 92 losses in each of the last four years. The move was made Monday with one season left on Gardenhire's contract, ending the second-longest active tenure in...

The clock had just struck 10 on Sunday morning, the dawn of a classic day of baseball. This was Game 162, and not one postseason matchup was set.
The Dodgers did not know what team they would play. But they knew they were in the playoffs, and their first...

The Angels know when and where they'll be opening the American League division series, but with two games left in the regular season, they still have no idea who they'll be playing.
The Seattle Mariners, behind home runs from Kendrys Morales, Michael...

Last week’s ranking in parentheses, statistics are through Friday’s games:
1. DODGERS: Only NL team with two triples from catchers (Butera, Olivo). Of course, catchers are also below .200. (3)
2. ANGELS: All this with little from Josh Hamilton. Trout,...

Justin Verlander's sore right shoulder probably will force him to miss at least one start, the latest setback for the reeling Detroit Tigers.
Detroit Manager Brad Ausmus is thrilled, however, the news isn't worse. Ausmus said an MRI on Verlander's...

The Detroit Tigers placed right-handers Joakim Soria and Anibal Sanchez on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, a blow to the American League Central leaders as they try to hold off Kansas City for the division lead.
Sanchez (8-5, 3.53 earned-run average)...

In what appears to be the final blockbuster deal of the day, the Tampa Bay Rays traded left-handed ace David Price to the Detroit Tigers in a three-team deal involving the Seattle Mariners.
In the deal, the Tigers get Price, the Mariners get Tigers...

"Staying the course is becoming less appealing as the ugly losses continue."
—Ron Fowler,
San Diego Padres executive chairman, to Fox Sports, on the possibility that a shakeup is imminent. The Padres are 3-9 this month, with a batting...

As statistics go, this one is pretty telling. Also, pretty ridiculous.
The major league teams without a winning streak of longer than three games this season: the Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.
...

At the traditional Memorial Day checkpoint, the Angels check out quite well. They have the third-best record in the American League, trailing only the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. The Angels are 1 1/2 games out of first place in the AL West,...

In his first game as the Angels' new closer, Joe Smith pitched the ninth inning with a three-run lead. In his second game, he pitched the ninth with a two-run lead.
Pressure? He laughed at the thought. In five years as the setup man for the Cleveland...

Mike Trout could have another monster season. Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton could bounce back from career-worst years. Joe Smith and Sean Burnett could add much-needed depth and reliability to the bullpen.
And it might not matter.
For the Angels to...